U312 1890 cut square UPSS Die 88 machine cancel, line under "E" of CENTS EFO

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

U312

Stamp Type

Postal Stationery

Condition

Used

Stamp Format

Single

Topic

People - Politicians

Year of Issue

1890

Item Description

38x41mm. This cut square was among thousands of stamps and cut squares collected from businesses at Union City, Indiana, in the early 1890s. Most of the readable postmarks in this hoard are from 1891 to 1893. Most of the 11-12,000 cut squares have the two-cent green Washington indicium that the United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS) identifies as Die 88. The Scott catalog number for this example on laid amber paper is U312. This cut square includes a small portion of UPSS watermark 8. The black ink dots above and below the cancellation are imprints from the cancelling machine hardware.

This cancel is very common in the Union City hoard. The International Machine cancel was introduced at Indianapolis in 1892. (See April-June 1996 Indiana Postal History Society Newsletter, page 19.) This cancel was used by multiple Indiana cities until 1895. Mail with this same cancel was probably arriving from other states as well. The post office of origin for most of the machine cancels in the hoard is unknown.

The stamps in the hoard had been soaked from the envelopes around the time of their collection. The stamps and cut squares were then sorted and tied tightly with string and sewing thread into bundles of 100 each. That process protected most of the items from damage and aging for over a century. I inherited and began unpacking the bundles in 2000. None of these sale items from the hoard has ever been in a collection.

The Die 88 stamped envelopes were printed in huge quantities. They display a wide variety of inking problems and die varieties, many of which fall under the EFO (errors, freaks and oddities) umbrella. Except for a few newly identified items that are not yet confirmed, these variations are found on multiple copies and have been documented by others. Some of these variations display progressive characteristics.

This cut square has a thin white line below the “E” of CENTS. It is one of 24 copies of this variety I have found in the Union City hoard. The foot of the numeral “2” is squared. I have found only a handful of copies with this variety in the hoard. On various copies of the Die 88s, green ink shows up in several unintended places. The ink at Washington’s eye and around the hair ribbon at the back of his neck is common. However, the three dots of ink on the side of his neck are a different story. This is the only copy I have found with these ink dots. Even if I overlooked one or two other copies, it is still a very rare oddity.

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Seller Information

Seller

keesindy (4648)

Registered Since

04/11/2016

Feedback

100%

Store

Stamps from Keesindy

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Item Location

Indiana, United States

Ships To

United States

Shipping Instructions

About 3½ years ago, I stopped selling and shipping outside the US due to new postal rules and rapidly rising costs. The USPS is raising postal rates again in January 2019. Today, December 25, 2018, due to the continuing rise in the cost of postage and associated fees, I am reluctantly raising my general shipping fee for the first time in many years. My sales here at HipStamp involve no additional charge for the purchase of multiple stamps. Shipping is via USPS unless otherwise specified. Be sure to contact me before making your purchases if you have questions.

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

All items may be returned unless otherwise stated in the listing. Of course, I cannot be responsible if uninsured items are damaged during shipping. If you are dissatisfied with a purchase, contact me within 7 days of your receipt of the item to make arrangements for returning it. If I have made an error in my listing or the item is not as described, you will receive a full reimbursement plus the pre-agreed-upon cost to return the item.